SIGUS: Special Interest Group in Urban Settlement

Massachussetts Institute of Technology, School of Architecture and Planning

Massachusetts Institute of Technology
77 Massachusetts Avenue
SIGUS Office 9-369
Cambridge, MA 02139

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(617) 253-2402

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(617) 253-8993

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sigus@mit.edu

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“Sweat! Design! Build!” | 2007

"Sweat! Design! Build!" | 2007

An International Two-Week Workshop in Louisiana

The workshop was a collaboration of students from throughout the MIT community and from universities abroad. Twenty students from MIT and abroad participated in 1-week of hands-on repair and rebuilding of hurricane damaged housing on the bayous of Louisiana, followed by 1-week of design and construction of housing elements for the on-going Lift House project.

Partner universities from previous international workshops each selected 2-3 students to participate. Workshop headquarters and accommodation were in the "Good Earth Volunteer Village" in Houma, Louisiana.

The program was divided into 2 phases:

  • 1-week active building where participants worked on repairing damaged houses and on completing the prototype Lift House in a "learn and do" approach.
  • Using their newly acquired skills and confidence, during the second week, the participants designed and built full-size sustainable and environmentally appropriate elements for the Lift House prototypes.

Additional activities included:

  • An understanding of the bayou culture through tours and discussions with community groups.
  • Field visits to the devastated areas of New Orleans with expert-led discussions on the rebuilding efforts.

Faculty was drawn from the ongoing "Sustainable Housing on the Bayou Initiative" of TRAC – a coastal Louisiana disaster recovery and preparedness organization, Oxfam America – an international aid organization, and the SIGUS Group in the School of Architecture and Planning at MIT.